St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-01-02

The channel on the left is used as a sluice-
way, through which the cakes of ice are
run. Should the opening be made per-
fectly square the ice would have Just so
much farther to travel, without eXpediting
the work in the least. At the
head of the slide running up from the
channel platform, trifle higher than the
sleds upon which the ice is to be loaded,
has been erected. The ice, which has been
cut into cakes twice as long as wide, is then
pulled onto this platform by a horse, and
men on the platform with saws, chisels and
axes cut the cakes in two pieces. always
cutting on the dividing line in the center.
This leaves two cakes of almost square
ice. Should there be any projecting edges
the trimmerS, as the men on the platform
are called, remove them and load the cakes
onto the Sleds, which now put in an appear
ance. These sleds generally carry from
twenty to thirty cakes, and when loaded
are slowly driven to the ice houses, which
line the river banks at no great distance
from where the ice was cut. Here are men
with loads of sawdust waiting for the ice.
AS it comes, cake after cake is rushed up to
the door Oh slide similar to the one used
in getting the ice from the water to the
platform at the head of the channel. First
thick layer of sawduSt is spread on the
floor Of the ice house, then a layer of ice,
with sawdust placed between each cake, is
put down. Thus layer after layer is put
in until the house is filed and the proprie-
tor thinks he has enough to satisfy the
summer demand.
There are seven ice companies in Mime
apolis, the Cedar Lake, the City, Dale's,
the Boston, the Minneapolis, Palmers and
GOering'S. All together these companies
have about so ice houses. the Cedar Lake
company leading with IS; next comes the
City Ice company (Herman WestphaD with
some II or II house: the rest have or 2
each. The first named company puts up
the most ice of any of the companies, cut
| ting annually from 40 900 to 10000 tons.
/ In 1885 the cut was 35. 900 tons. but this
| year will run to go, 600 tons. About 45 pei
cent, OF all the ice harvested in and around
! Minneapolis is cut from the river, and is
counted as good III every respect as the ice
| cut from the lakes. The annual cut by all
| the companies runs from 125, 900 to 150 00C
tons. This is larger than the cut of any
other city in the Northwest. 1.-The out
look for big ice crop this year," remarked
! Capt. Babb of the Cedar Lake company,
yesterday, lis decidedly encouraging. ant
as the ice is in almost perfect condition
summer, If my theory is correct, and
think it is, there will be some %, 600 to so,
600 tons left over at the end of next season
There was really enough ice cut last yea
to last through any Ordinar,
summer, and leave surplus o
from Is, 900 to %, 900 tons, but the heated
term was so long, and the demand for ic
continued from early in April to late il
November, it exceeded our expectation
and left us somewhat in the lurch. Mime
apolis was not the only city that suffered
from an ice shortage. however. 1t was TIL
same in every city in the entire Northwest
A great many people object to river ice, bu
it is really just as pure as that cut from thu
lakes This year about six inches will b.
shaved off the top to remove the dust ant
dirt that has blown Oh. The surface ic
should always be removed from river ice
and in fact from ice cut from the lakes a
well.''